Article of manufacture for shoes



July 29, 1930. F. e. DELBON 1,

ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR SHOES Filed May 19, 1928 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 .FfiA Nh CiDELBON,

H ISATTORNEYS July 29, 1930. r F. cs. DELBON 1,771,673

ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR SHOES Filed May 19, 1928 2 Shegats-Sheet 2 BY @ITW-LU W H S ATTORNEYS Patented July 29, 1930 PATENT) OFFICE FRANK G. DELBON', OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK I ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR SHOES- Application filed'liay 19, 1928. Serial No. 278,928.

This invention relates to improvements in the structure of shank-stifl'eners such'as employed in shoes of the so-called hygienic or orthopaedic type whereby, without changing their unitary nature, a more efiicient and desirable article may be produced at little if any advance over the cost of ordinary shank-stifieners. 4

Most shank-stii'feners go no further than to provide stifl'ness for the shank of the shoe, and thereby support for only the main, or

plantar arch of the foot, and what is more.

deplorable since they stiffen all parts of the shank indiscriminately, some parts of the plantar arch, particularly the outer side, where stiffening'is quite detrimental, will be forced into'cramped or distorted positions thereby.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shank-stiffener having such a formation and structure that those-parts ofthe plantar arch particularly-the innerside muscles which need most support, will receive it; and at the same time, the other parts which require less support yet nevertheless need a certain kind of supporting that will not intere'fere witlrthe flexing and relaxing of these parts, willbe so supported as to take care of their particular needs.

' The metatarsal arch, that is, the transverse in the ball of the foot, is just as often the cause of foot. discomfort and trouble as is the plantar arch, and it is a further object of the present invention to provide a single,

essentially unitary article of manufacture for furnishing the above mentioned differential improved support to the plantar arch, at the same time providing the dilferent kind of Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the outer or covering portion of the shank stilfener, removed from the body-portion;

Fig. 4 is an assembly view of the two arts of the article in the unitary form in which it is used;

Fig, 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of body-portion;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the covering part for this form of body portion;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the complete shank-stiffener;

Fig. 8 is a view of the a shoe;

Fig. 9 is a plan of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 8, and y Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are modified forms of the body-portion.

Referring now in detail to the parts ofithe inventionshown in the drawings, the body portion is stamped out of flat metal, preferably spring steel and comprises a forward end 1 and a rear end or heel-flat 2, and an interthat it may be attached to the heel by tacks or the like.

arch between the large toe and the small toe tion comprising a table or ledge section, here At its forward end, the body has a formashown as approximately a triangle 6, outlined and defined at its inner edges by the bend lines 7, which diverge from a polnt 8,

this poiht 8v being the forward end of the sired, one side may be so. flattened and the other side left bulging u wardly, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, where on y the inner s1de 14: is shown flattened. It is preferred to always flatten the inner side, in order to prevent throwing the weight of the body to the outside of the shank-stifiener, and hence on to the fifth metatarsal bones, which undesirable action would result if the inner edge 14 were allowed to project upwardly at the same angle which it has at the bottom of the ridge.

The body, or base, portions are made in 7 rights and lefts for pairs of shoes, with the heel part 2 provide a broad lateral support for the stifiener at each end and prevent the stiffener from twisting under the weight of the arch. The portion 14 of the shank of the body, which lies to the inward of the center line or ridge 9, is left solid and whole but with just the necessary amount of flexibility, while the portion 15 of the shank to the outward of the center line, is completely cut away from the point 16, where the upward curve of the arch begins, to the point 17, where it ends, but leaving an outwardlycurved inner edge 28, which is serrated'as shown at 29. This serration consists of a plurality of notches 29, the roots of which lie on a curved line to the inside of the center line, their shape and location conferring the proper transversely yielding support to that portion of the foot which-lies just over the center-line on the outside of the arch, particularly the bone on the outside of the foot which, unlike the other bones of the foot, has its tarsal point close to the sole of the foot at the instep. Thus that part of the planter arch which more than any other tends to become flat, that is the abductor region, is protectively supported upward in proper arch form, instead of being left unaided to hence fall or become deformed, as in a supporter flexible throughout, while the extreme outer side of the plantar arch, particularly the region of the fifth metatarsal bones, is hereby left unimpeded and free to rest fiat in the shoe, instead of being held up in an arch, or otherwise bound or cramped in action, as would occur with a supporter made rigid throughout.

The member 14' at each end of the serrations 29is provided with locking slots 19, the serrations and locking slots serving to hold in place a pad 20 "of rubber or other resilient elastic material, shaped as "shown into a tongueel-anda shank 22. This pad extends beyond the table-portion at the forward end. This pad may". be :molded" right on the shankstiffene'rgor may be molded separately from the-stiffener and -provided with suitable pro- "je'ctio'n's .40 interlocking with the serrations 29' andslots-19 Thepad when separately -mol ded is also provided-with a sheath 23 -adgpted to engage the forward edge of the tie is;

without shoes the foot naturally tends 'to p spread as the weight comes on it, but when confined in a shoe, particularly a shoe with a light sole which can bend upward along the side edges, the sole of the shoe tends t/O assume a concave shape on the inside so that the greater thickness of the flesh at the middle of the foot is insufficient to hold up the transverse arch, hence the bones at the middle tend to flatten down to the same horizontal plane as the other bones of the foot, thereby pressing the bones together, causing considerable discomfort, particularly in shoes that fit snugly.

The shank portion of the pad serves principally to fill in the concave or V-shaped upper side of the stiffener. In order to give suflicient strength to the stiffener without undue weight, the upper face of the shank is pressed down at the middle, forming the ridge 9. This leaves the upper face of the stiffener concave to a greater extent than desirable. By extending the pad up the shank of the stiffener in the manner shown, this concavity is filled in and the edges of the shank are covered, thereby providing a yielding support for the foot at the instep, particularly along the outer side of'the foot where the prominence of the bone makes a cushion particularly desirable.

This shank portion of the pad. is not so essential in the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7, as

the shank of the stiffener is narrower, while the central depression is more in the nature of a central longitudinal rib and the concavity on the upper surface not so pronounced. l/Vith this form of stiffener the shank of the pad may be extended no farther back thannecessary to be securely anchored on the stiffener in the manner shown.

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13 I have illustrated certain modifications of my improved shank stiffener wherein flexibility of certain portions of the stiffener is provided without unduly weakening the stiffener as a whole. These modified forms of stiffeners may be used either with or without the rubber pads.

The stiffener shown in Fig. 12 is of the same type as the stiffener shown in Fig. 6, except that the table or triangular portion 6 at the forward end of the stiffener is slotted as shown at 50, thereby dividing the platform into-a series of tongues 51. The slots may be formed when the blank is stamped out or hey may be cut in a previously :fornied stiffener of the kind shown in. Fig. 6. The

, metal of the stiflener will be tempered after the slots are formed so that each tongue 51 constitutes a separate flat spring ,capable of yielding slightly in either direction as the shoe is bent in walking. The slots 50 do not extend through the angles or corners at the ,juncture of the table with the main portion of the stiffener, consequently the stiffener will not be distorted permanently out of its normal shape, the tongues merely providing what may be termed a local flexibility in the table portion itself.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a form of stiffener wherein the main arch of the stiffener is rendered flexible by spaced slots 52 extend.

ing from each edge of the stifi'ener to the central ridge but not through the ridge. These slots allow the stiffener to twist slightly and also to give slightly on one side or the other under uneven pressure. As the slots, however, do not cross therib, the strength of the arch is not materially impaired and the stiffener cannot be permanently flattened or otherwise distorted out'of its original shape.

In Fig. 13 I have shown a stiffener having the flat table portion slotted as shown in Fig. 12 and the arch ortion also slotted as shown in Fig. 11 to t ereby combine in a sin le stiffener a flexible table portion and a flexi le arch portion. As both the longitudinalrib and the angles or corners 7 between the table and the arch portion are solid, the stiffener will hold its shape but will permit-local yielding and bending without permanent distorlJiOIl. V

The cost of my improved shank-stiffener over an all-metal stiffener-is negligible compared with the cost of a pair of shoes, amount ing to little more than the actual costof the rubberin the pad. The improvement, however, is marked. The principal objection heretofore raised to the so-called hygienic, or orthopaedic, shoes, has been that such shoes are too stiff and hold the "foot too firmly in g one position. M improved arch support is much more flexi le than the ordinary arch support, but it is nevertheless strong enough to support the instep in its natural arched I position. The pad also is a distinctimprovement, providing not only a support for the transverse arch of the foot, but also a'cushion over the unyielding metal of the stifl'ener,

thereby adding to the comfort of the shoe, as well as to its durability. J

l claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a unitary shoe member having a portion for fitting under the plantar arch and an extension for fitting under the metatarsal arch, said portion for fitting under the plantar arch comprising a comparatively rigid part on the inside of the arch and a yielding part on the outside.

- with said shank-stiffener,

-2. A shoe-shank stiffener of the character described having at its forward end a. broadened section conformed to the rear end of the tread portion of the shoe, and having a central longitudinal ridge extendin throughout most of its body portion, the tion to one side of saidridge being cut away in such a manner as to provide the shankstifi'ener with an opening on one side sufii cient to-accommodate the outside of the plantar arch.

3. A shoe-shank stiffener of the character described having at its forward end a broadened section conformed to the rear end of the tread portion of the shoe, and having a central longitudinal ridge extending throughout most of its body portion, the material on most of one side of said ridge being cut away, the remaining edge of said longitudinal ridge being curved outwardly and serrated transversely in its center.

v4. Asa new article of manufacture, a

Shank-stiflt'ener comprising a metal arch and a member of resilient material, said member having a shank and a tongue, said shank having formations on its underside for fittin into and engaging with said metal arch ody por- 1 an said tongue extending beyond. said a part of the length of saidshank-stiffener' and, having a smooth upper surface and formations on its lower surface for engaging tion extending beyond said table and having a-smooth upper surface, a sheath-like openlng at the turn of the tongue-portion from .the shank for engagingover the front edge of said stiffener, a rounded protuberant: upper surface, and a substantially triangularsaid tongue porperiphery for fitting under the "metatarsal arch of the, foot.

6. A metal shank-stiffener comprising an upwardly arched sheet metal memberhaving a central ridge, the metal onone side of said ridge being transversely slotted to-form a plurality of separate elastic tongues.

7. A metal shank-stiffener com upwardly arched sheet metal mem er having a central rib, the metal on'one side of said rib being transversely slotted to form a plurising an rality of separate .elastic tongues said shankstiffener havin at its forwar end a flat table portion 1 portion of the shoe, said table portion being longitudinally slottedto provide a plurality of separate spring tongues. I

8. As a new article of manufacture, a unitary shoe member having a portion for fitting or projecting into the tread nndertheplantar arch, said portion for fitting under the plantar arch comprlsing a comparatively rigid part on the inside of the arch and a yleldlngriart on the outside.

. 9. A pad for sha -stifieners which have an upwardly concave body-portion and a table portion turned relatively upwardly from the body portion, comprising a piece of material having a portion for fitting into and lock-engaging with the concave body portion and having another portion'engaging over thev table-portion and forming an extension for said shank-stifiener.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

FRANK G. DELBON. 

